Glimpses: 14-17
by BrahC
Summary: Short snippets and oneshots of the Teen Titans. Will be updated with multiple stories as they are written. Takes place while the youngest Titans (Beast Boy and Raven) are between the ages of 14 and 17. T for safety.
1. Training: Day 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Teen Titans is the property of DC Comics.**

* * *

**Training: Day One**

Robin planned his team's first training session for eight in the morning on their third day as Titans. He walked through the sliding doors to the gym at half past six, already changed and fed.

Running, pushups, weights, dead lifts, pull-ups and a Junior-Olympic level acrobatic routine later, he was warmed up and decided to pick a fight with a punching bag. His team wasn't going to be coming in for at least another half hour, so the bag was the best solid object he could practice his martial arts talent on. Soon, a pale girl cloaked in blue walked in holding a black mug; a hi-five hand, outlined in white and with ring finger down against the palm, decorated its surface.

"Hi Raven," Robin said to her. "Training isn't for another half hour, why don't you get breakfast? You'll need your strength." He wasn't out of breath; simply making light conversation.

"I have breakfast," she stated and took a sip from the mug. "I'll meditate."

Robin indicated his understanding and continued his barrage, but kept an eye on the girl as she wandered around the gym. She was inspecting all of the machines, weights and training mats.

Wandering over to the sparring ring, she sat and took a deep breath with eyes closed. Robin specifically asked Vic to add that ring in so they could practice fighting each other, but it seemed like she picked the large open space specifically to do her thing. "Another unforeseen benefit…good," he thought.

Five minutes passed and Robin now lazily jabbed at the sack of sand while absently listening to a raspy "Azerath Metrion Xinthos." Sometimes he wished he could fly, it seemed so cool especially when you did it meditating.

Starfire walked in with a shy smile as she glimpsed her teammates. Robin snapped out of his soaring daydreams and returned her smile as she took stock of the equipment much like Raven had. When finished, she wandered over to him with a confused look on her face.

Robin snapped back to reality. He had been staring, mouth slightly agape and still jabbing at the hanging cylinder to his right. He looked like an idiot. The Boy Wonder flushed; damn she was beautiful. He'd better learn to ignore that so he was focused during missions. "Punch it?" he jerked his head to the punching bag and gave a weak smile.

"Please…will it not harm the creature?" She questioned.

"Uhh…no. It's not alive, it's meant to be punched." Robin loosened up; she sure was naïve, in that cute sort of way. Her face brightened considerably and she nodded. Robin stepped aside to grant her access and she raised a fist preparing to strike as she bit her lip (adorably) in concentration.

_Thwack_

The bag jostled slightly.

"Harder. Like you would hit one of those Gordanian alien guys we fought a few days ago."

Without warning, her face contorted in terrified rage as her eyes turned emerald, fist poised to strike yet again. Everything seemed to go quiet for a moment and…

_KaBoom_

A shockwave sent the bird pair flying and they both look up at the target, wide-eyed in adrenaline-fueled surprise.

Chunks of concrete fell from above as the bag stood lodged in the fractured ceiling, a steady stream of sand was pouring out and spilling onto the floor in front of the alien.

Silence pierced the atmosphere.

Starfire relaxed as the confused look returned on her face. "Please…is it broken?" she ventured.

"Looks like we're gonna have an interesting session today," Raven deadpanned, now on her feet and dusting off her cloak. Robin couldn't help but agree.

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	2. Comfort Food

**Comfort Food**

Raven closed her book and got up from her bed to place it on the bookshelf she had reserved for finished novels. "Another trashy romance fiction consumed in a matter of days…I love these things too much," she thought as she placed it on the bottom shelf. "Azar would have had my head if she ever caught me reading them as a child."

She quickly glanced through the hundred or so titles neatly arranged; Nicholas Sparks, Margot Dalton, Janet Joyce, and Serena Richards were among the few authors that populated the shelves. She considered naming the bookcase her "romance only" bookcase and stashing it somewhere hidden in her room; the closet maybe.

Heading for the ops room to make more tea, she anticipated heading to the mall later to pick up her next order of books from the bookstore. Maybe she would bring Starfire along with her as well since the boys were out having "guy time." She shuddered at the thought of whatever boys did during "guy time."

She and the alien girl had gotten along much better after their recent adventures fighting off the Puppet King, each showing an appreciation for the other after trading bodies. That creep had stolen their friends' souls and stuffed them into puppet miniatures, forcing the duo to accept and overcome their differences in order to save the boys.

"Hey Star," she ventured shyly as she walked into the room and headed for the couch. "I was wondering…since it's just the two of us here, and since you _love_ pestering me to go to the mall, I was wondering if you wanted to-" she stopped and stared at her friend crashed out on the furniture, looking very sick. "Uh….never mind. You okay?"

The girl looked up at her with faded green eyes. "Hello friend Raven," Her usually giddiness seemed toned down. "I am afraid I am not feeling well. I think I have caught the sick? If you wish to medita-" She was abruptly cut off as she let out a sneeze worthy of passing as a hurricane.

"AH-CHOO"

Silence.

The dark girl had hand and cloak up, shielding herself with a dark force field. Her face and hair looked as if an enormous cow decided to suck on her head for an hour or so.

"Sick is right," she deadpanned, smoothing out her hair. "Is there anything you need?"

"That will not be necessary friend, but I thank you for your most generous concern," the Tamaranian shook her head.

"Starfire, I'm an empath and I can feel how sick and uncomfortable you are. I consider you my friend, especially after what we went through with Puppet King. I know a lot of the team sees me as…creepy, " she almost seemed sad at the admission, "but I was hoping that after what we went through with switching bodies and meditating together and whatnot that…maybe we could get past that?"

Starfire fought to keep another sneeze from popping up and Raven sensed it, throwing up her arms and shield again in response. Sensing the alien had successfully wrestled it down, Raven continued.

"Everyone should have some help when they're deathly sick. Cyborg puts the tofu/meat war on hold when Beast Boy comes down with something to make him tofu chicken noodle soup. If you can believe it, even I had someone who went out of their way to make me special tea when I had a bad day. That was way back before I came to Earth but still. Maybe I could make something for you? How bout some food?" To push her sincerity farther, the dark girl forced a small, albeit sad smile through her lips.

Starfire was naïve, but she was not stupid. She noticed the slight tinge of sadness that graced her friend's expression and wondered at its cause, but must have been thinking for too long because the empath's expression faded into an expression of anxious worry. Raven had begun to fear her outstretched hand of support was about to be rejected. Starfire wanted to assuage her friend's insecurity, but felt another sneeze fighting its way to freedom.

"Hello? Starfire?" The pale one waved her hand in front of the alien girl as if attempting to snap her out of a trance. "Can I help? Please? …Or I can just go back to my room if you wa-"

AH-CHOO

Raven failed to block this one and she was sent flying and landed dazed a few feet away on her back.

"Oh no! I apologize friend that was not done on purpose! Please get up," Starfire scrambled up and flew over to her friend, hovering and worrying parallel to the vertical girl. "I will be happy to accept the assistance from you if it would not be too much burden."

"No trouble at all Star. To tell you the truth, I'm offering to help you because I _want_ to help. Not because I feel I need to," she got to her feet, slowly checking herself to make sure she still had all of her limbs. Her hair needed to be smoothed down again.

Starfire nodded her understanding. "In my room, inside of a dark space called 'the closet,' is a Tamaranian storage compartment. Please bring it to me and I shall show you how to make my favorite dessert from Tamaran: Glorrk!" Her face brightened and Raven felt a tinge of happiness at being given the opportunity to show what a good friend she could be. "It is the perfect food of comfort for my sickness and I would very much love to have some," her giddiness started to return to its baseline levels at the mention of the strange food.

With a promise to return shortly, Raven floated swiftly towards the sick girl's room and entered. How could anyone stand all of this pink? Along with Starfire's long hair, it was another one of those things that she just didn't understand.

"I'm gonna get another headache aren't I," she thought as she searched for the door to the closet.

"Okay Star I'm back. Show me how to make this glorrk stuff," she walked back to the ops room and ignored the flipped over coffee table and papers flying every which direction as she headed toward the kitchen. 'Poor table must have been sneezed on. Robin was going to have a field day sorting those dossier papers when he gets home,' she thought.

Raven set the huge pink case she was carrying on the counter and snapped it open, revealing a host of odd looking objects inside. Some of them didn't even look like food, and others squirmed around, indicating they were still alive. Stifling a shudder, she turned to her friend on her left.

"Now what?" Geeze, Star looked absolutely terrible. It didn't look this bad five minutes ago did it?

"Grab the zorhk, wlneshbargh, and stahpit and put them in a large basin of the water for boiling." Sensing Raven's confusion, Starfire elaborated for her. "The squishy balls of white and yellow, blue objects that resemble the noodles, and the wriggling white slug creatures."

"Ah…right. Silly me I should have known," came the monotone reply but the sarcasm was lost on the foreign girl. Raven felt sick herself at the thought of boiling squirming maggots. Even worse when she realized her friend was going to eat them and she hoped she wasn't going to have to try any. 'Better think of a good excuse now,' she thought.

Thirty minutes of boiling, stirring and a heated debate about random nothings later, the objects lay coalesced into a big pile of brown mulch as Starfire read off the next component.

"Now comes the most important ingredient of all: the treasured zorkaberries!"

"Oh boy," monotone again but this time it held a hint of amusement behind it. Raven never cooked anything before and was actually having a good time, even though she would never have admitted it. Starfire too was enjoying the company of the hermit and was excited at the prospect of eating her favorite dessert.

"In that capsule," Starfire pointed to an orange jar and Raven took winced at how badly it clashed with the pink of the bag, "lies my precious zorkaberries. Please be careful friend for they are carnivorous. Do not lose your finger to them like my K'Norfka did.

One of Raven's eyebrows shot up in incredulity. "Your caretaker lost a finger to a fruit?"

"Oh yes. He wished to make me this same dish years before when I was sad. He ended up losing one of his fingers but finished the dessert for my consumption before going to find the K'Zatza to mend him."

"Wow, he sure must have loved you." She did something unexpected and volunteered some history to the reminiscing girl. "I remember my nursemaid sneaking me out of the temple for a little each day until…"

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_ A strong hand grasped her and pulled her forward into a run. She fled through the burning city streets, guided by the one in front. She looked back and glimpsed at the girl who had cared for her since birth before rounding a corner and losing sight of her._

* * *

"Friend Raven?" Starfire was looking at her with a look of ultimate honest curiosity. "Until what? Sneaking you out each day until the what?"

"Nothing Star," Raven replied, shaking her head to dispel the unwanted memory. "I'd much rather not talk about it. In fact, I wish I could forget about my past altogether," she gestured to the orange container. "Let's add these in."

Starfire knew better than to press her friend any farther. She didn't want to lose Raven to the clutches of her room because she was being too nosy, so she nodded and waited in anticipation as her friend unscrewed the cap to the sacred fruit.

Angry white gumballs snapped their mouths at the pair from the half full cylinder as Raven stared. Her eyebrow was going to get stuck up there if she kept making that face. She dumped a couple dozen out into the bowl and the fruit began to voraciously consume the brown paste. They grew from stuffing themselves until they were this size of apples and then shut their mouths, laying still. All of the paste was gone.

Raven flinched as Starfire let out a high-pitched squeal of delight. "Ow, my ears."

"They are ready for consumption!" The excited alien grabbed the bowl and raced back to the ops room with a surprised looking girl trailing behind her like a puppy. Did those mouthed gumballs really just _eat_ that pasty stuff?

The two sat on the couch, Starfire not looking nearly as sick as before now that she was munching on her glorrk. Raven sat content next to her friend, glad to have been some help to the ailing girl. She liked feeling useful.

"Friend Raven?" Starfire got her attention. "What is your favorite dessert, so I shall know to prepare it for you when you are afflicted with the feelings of not good?"

"Oh…don't worry about it Star." Raven knew all about Starfire's infamous cooking from times previous. Her secret sweet indulgence was also a trifle embarrassing as well.

"But I oh so wish to know friend! Please share the name of your favorite food with me," her pleading puppy dog eyes worked its magic.

"Chocolate soufflé," she said after a thoughtful pause. "…and those chocolates in heart boxes that come around during Valentines day," she hesitantly added.

"This chocolate soo-flay I have not heard of before, but for the second: Are you referring to the heart shaped chocolates that I received months prior? Are those not meant as an offering between a male and the female he has the feelings for?" The alien girl's eyes scrunched up in concentration. "I remember Robin acting quite strange when I received them in the mail in a box labeled 'anonymous.'"

"….Yes…._those_ chocolates Starfire…" Understanding dawned on the sick one as her eyes narrowed slyly.

"So who is the one who has been sending these mating chocolates to you friend?" In her excitement from learning that someone was trying to court her hermit friend, she elbowed the one in question gently and sent her flying to the other end of the couch.

After picking herself up into a proper sitting position and rubbing her now bruised arm, the dark girl put her hood up as she felt a blush creep onto her complexion. She realized Starfire was not going to let this go and resigned to telling the truth as she wondered why her friend had not sneezed once in the past forty-five minutes.

"Uh….I…uhm…. well," Damn this blush. Words Raven, use words. "I bought some for myself two months ago on Valentines day. I wanted some but… its not like anyone would send me any, so I just went out and bought some along with some new books at the mall." Starfire didn't have to know they had been extra sappy romance novels, she'd keep that tidbit to herself.

Starfire understood, and wished to show her friend that she had no reason to be embarrassed. "It is alright friend," she said with the biggest most sincere smile she could manage. "Were I in shoes that belonged to you, I would have done the same." With the gravity of a Tamaranian battle mistress, she said, "lose not the hope, for I am certain one day you will no longer need to buy your own treats of the heart."

She thought it had worked. She could see her embarrassed friend loosen up a little as the red lessened on the visible part of her cheeks.

In actuality, the red faded from her cheeks to take up residence in her ears. She was more embarrassed than before.

"Thanks Starfire, I really appreci-"

AH-CHOO

This sneeze had apparently been building up for some time because it knocked the couch the pair was sitting on backwards, dumping and sprawling them out on the floor in two tangled messes. The glorrk balls rolled away out of the bowl and onto the floor.

"What the heck happened here," asked three thoroughly confused boys standing in the doorway to the room. They had arrived just in time to find furniture, papers, weird white apples, and two females decorate the floor.

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	3. Cold Compassion

**Cold Compassion**

The Titans were sitting in the ops room, each with a somber look on their faces. They had been a team now for a full twenty-four hours and were casually spending the night with each other, sitting and talking. The inevitable topic of personal history had taken the floor.

Robin, as team leader, volunteered information first. As much as the kid tried to put on a brave face whilst recounting the tragic death of the Flying Graysons, Victor Stone knew better. His cybernetic eye gave full body analysis readouts on each of his new friends. It was focused on Robin:

_…_

_...Elevated heart rate..._

_...Increased sweat secretion..._

_...Involuntary blink reflex escalated by thirty-two percent..._

_...Median pupil dilation up by eleven percent..._

_...Skin temperature increased by one-hundredth of a degree..._

_...Voice amplification increased by three point one decibels..._

_...Measurable and involuntary voice semiquavers detected beyond acceptable thresholds..._

_…_

All this and more was compiled and understood instantaneously through the man's organic-synthetic brain interfaces, but the human half of him was burdened with more powerful emotion. Men typically don't like to display emotion, but these guys - these team members - seemed to appreciate his cybernetics instead of deride them like most others. That meant the world to Victor.

Next up came Starfire and Beast Boy. Same readouts. Same faces of sincere sympathy. More of an understanding, a sense of respect for their fellow teammates, was blossoming between them. The alien's story came as no real surprise. Those Gordanian's were nasty things and mopping them up around the city proved that. The idea that they would take the princess of a planet as a slave in return for sparing their home world wasn't far fetched. Grass stain? There was a surprise. For such a cheery and dorky kid, he had a pretty touching history with his parents.

He couldn't help but notice that the dark girl to his left – Raven was it? – showed no signs of elevated anything. She didn't even have that concerned look, not that he could see it very well with her hood up. She just sat there listening closely and taking it all in. "She must have to keep under control for a reason," he thought.

He cleared the thoughts that had commanded his attention as he noticed everyone was looking at him. Beast Boy had finished. His turn.

"Well, obviously something really messed me up," he said. "Let's just say these augmentations aren't here because I wanted them." He shifted in his chair and gathered his thoughts. "My old man was named Silas. My mother, Elinore. They were scientists who were obsessed with advancing human technology. I was not their son, I was their guinea pig," he grimaced.

"Grass stain, your parents tested an experimental drug on you to save your life." Beast Boy's focus on the tin man intensified out of respect. "My father saved my life because it was a convenient opportunity to try out his experimental prosthetics." Beast Boy's mouth dropped and he noticed Raven's pulse quicken. Both of their pupils dilated by thirteen percent. Interesting. Robin and Starfire's readings remained as they were: emotional and in the negatives, but not out of the ordinary given the subject matter.

"My parents worked at S.T.A.R. Laboratories and would test intelligence enhancing experiments on me. They worked. My IQ was boosted to genius level, that's why I was able to plan and build this tower in such a short amount of time." He swelled a bit at that. This tower was a work of art and he was proud of it.

"Because I wasn't really a 'normal' child, I fell in with the wrong crowd. A guy named Ron and I became good buddies. We managed to stay friends despite his radical viewpoints and desire to blow shit up. I never thought he'd actually go through with any of that but I guess I was wrong. I stopped him," Victor's expression darkened and his audience knew better than to probe him about the subject.

"I played sports. Started slacking off in school. Anything to rebel against my parents. The last time I saw them together, they were working on some experiments regarding trans-dimensional travel. Something...foreign...came through the portal." His jaw clenched as he balled one of his hands into a fist. The dark girl surprised him when she gently laid a hand on him. Her face was still unreadable because of her hood, but her visible eyes said "it's okay, keep going."

"That thing…that blob went after my mom and killed her. She was nothing but a sack of blood and guts when it turned on me and started dissolving my body," he closed his organic eye. "I saw Silas chase it back into the portal before I blacked out."

Victor got up and gestured at his towering, 6'4" metallic body. "When I woke up, I was like this. The bastard didn't even have the decency to let me die and bury me. He just turned me into another one of his experiments." He turned and headed back to his room, thundering footsteps accompanying him there.

* * *

He stood in front of a high-tech computer terminal, refining some of the Tower's defense program coding. The door to his suite opened with a swoosh and someone came in.

_…_

_...Footstep audio frequency indicates 120 pound bipedal..._

_...Pulse elevated 2% from recorded baseline medians..._

_...Time between footstep decibel recordings indicate 5'5 individual..._

_...Sampling indicators consistent with recorded alias dossier...  
_

_...Alias: Raven... _

_...Status: Active friendly - Vitals: Stable...  
_

_…_

"I left early. I'm sorry I didnt stay to listen to you tell your story. It got too heated in there for me," he turned and faced her. He was a bit surprised to find her hood was down, revealing her azure, shoulder-length hair and chakra stone centered on her forehead.

"I didn't share today," she said. "I wasn't planning on sharing anyways. Like I said yesterday: if you knew what I really was, no one would want me around any longer."

"I don't believe that," he said and a brief silence followed. Normally, Cyborg considered silences like these to be awkward, but with her it wasn't. "Why'd you come to my room?" he asked.

"You were the only one to notice me hanging back from the rest of the group when we assaulted the ship. You came and asked me why I was always off by myself. Why?"

Cyborg folded his arms. "I notice things. I played sports and it was my job to notice things as the QB. If I couldn't pick out the right person to throw a spiral to, I wouldn't have been decent enough to make varsity." His eyes softened. "As for actually confronting you and asking about what was up? I'm just that kind of guy. I try to make everyone feel welcome and part of the group, it's just who I am. Especially now that I know what it's like to not be accepted; treated as an outsider."

"You pity me," the dark girl said, growing defensive. Her gaze hardened. "Don't pity me."

He unclasped his arms. "I don't pity you Raven, I don't pity anyone. I hung back with you and talked to you because I respect you. Respect you enough to give you the time of day and my attention. Respect you enough to keep you company so you don't get lonely and leave." This girl sure was insecure. "It's not pity, it's respect. One comes from contempt; when they think they're better than you. The other comes from those who value you as an equal; as a friend," he smiled at her and her gaze softened. "Whoever or whatever you are, I'm sure everyone will still want you around when you feel comfortable sharing with us."

She paused and a heavy silence hung over them once again. "I'm from another dimension," she finally said. "Just like that thing that hurt you and killed Elinore."

He shrugged. "Can't help where we're born. Your not some amorphous murdering blob and you helped saved that alien girl's life. Good enough for me."

"My father is evil."

"So is mine, but that doesn't make me evil. Why should it be any different for you?"

Raven's eyes opened slightly. He didn't need cybernetics to see that she was surprised at the statement.

_…_

_...Heart rate elevated ten percent..._

_...Eye movement elevated thirteen percent..._

_...Blink reflex elevated nine percent..._

_…_

She bit her lip and her brow furrowed, deep in thought. She snapped out of it to look up him. "Thank you."

"No problem. You ever need to talk, my door is open."

She nodded once. "Robin planned training for tomorrow morning at 0800." She turned and walked out of the room.

Soon after, Victor began replaying the conversation in his head. "Did the recluse open up to me tonight? It's hard to tell, but it seems like it's a step in the right direction," he mused.

He set his charging station to wake him at 0730 and hooked in, letting his organic parts drift off to sleep.

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**Bonus: Give me your best guess at the symbolism behind the title and include it in your review! A challenge for the smartest of the crayons in the box.  
**


	4. Target: Red

**Target: Red**

Beast Boy lay in the dark under the shadow of the bed as a cat. The cover of the bed and pitch dark of the room ensured he was completely hidden from view. He had chosen this form because of the sensitive hearing and eyes particular to felines, allowing him total cognizance of his shadowy surroundings.

His mission was simple: wait for, locate, and engage the Target. For the past hour, he carried out the first portion of his task with the indomitable patience associated with his form. Beast Boy was grateful for this because patience was not one of his stronger points when in his default form. At least as a cat, the instincts of the animal attached to his personality like a new pair of clothes.

The door slid open and a figure stood in the blinding light of the outside world. To ordinary eyes, the sight would be that of an angular silhouette against a white canvas, but to the changeling, individual nuances, tell-tale characteristic of the Target, lit up like signals on a stoplight to the hunter. Target was calm, at ease as if he were in his own room; oblivious of the impending doom that soon awaited him.

He cocked his ears, hearing a heart beat at a parade rest of 60 beats per minute. He sniffed, sensitive nose detecting clean and dry scent from Target's recent shower. The silhouette walked leisurely to his desk chair and plopped down. The room was plunged back into comfortable blackness as the door was allowed to slide shut with a hiss. Like the scrape of a coffin lid, sealing his final resting place.

Another blinding light attacked his eyes as a telltale click met his ears; Target depressed the button to his computer monitor screen and its luminescence was aggravating. Quick and decisive clicks performed in rapid succession indicated a password being input. Twenty two characters in total, with the hollow timbre of the 'r' key being thrice struck.

Categorized words and pictures of various character files filled the screen and Beast Boy shook his feline head. It was already known that Target possessed superhuman categorization and concentration skills, which culminated in him spending countless hours studying notes and dossiers. For the hunter, it was hard for him to even categorize his clothes enough to tell where his left and right socks were, let alone focus enough to clean his room all the way through. At least, that's what Raven told him; He had to make sure he could tell the left sock apart from the right. He had tried, and failed miserably on more than one occasion. _Still a work in progress_, he thought.

He shook his head again, chastising himself for losing focus. For three more long hours he waited as Target perused and updated files. Finally, Target stood, stretched and gave a tired yawn. Another click and the room was bathed in darkness yet again, the screen having been turned off.

Target breathed a sigh of frustration, and turned to head to bed; Now was the time. Four hours of waiting and his appointed time had come. _Let us end this_ thought the green cat. _Let us seal the coffin_. The cat under the bed coiled back like a snake preparing to strike. Tension built in it's hind legs and unloaded itself like a firing gun from beneath his hidden hiding spot.

He pounced.

He shifted.

Now a magnificent gorilla slammed the ground with its desk sized fists and roared with enough force to knock Target onto its back.

Emergency lighting was programmed to turn on during circumstantial emergencies such as these. Beast Boy's gorilla eyes adjusted to the new light source. Target lay on his back. His eyes were wide with shock, one hand clasped around his heart that was now beating in excess of 200 beats per minute. He was breathing heavy, like he had run a marathon, and the scent of fear mingled with sweat reached the gorilla's nostrils.

"Beast Boy! Don't _ever_ do that to me again, you scared me half to death!"

The gorilla shifted back into a scrawny green kid with a sheepish smile on his face. His lone fang shone through and both hands came to rest behind his head as he laughed uncontrollably.

"I got you _good _Rob! Best one yet, admit it," he squeezed out between the guffaws.

Robin growled under his breath, took a couple of deep breaths, and then accepted his friends hand as he got back up on his feet. "Okay, you're right. That _was_ a good one Beast Boy," he said as he dusted himself off. "But now we have a problem." His voice and face remained stern and unamused.

"What's that?" said the green boy, curious and slightly alarmed.

A moment of tension passed between the two before Robin's face loosened into a slight grin. "Now I can't sleep, so you owe me a movie night."

Beast Boy snapped a grin at his friend. "Dude, yes! Movie night. I'll grab the snacks." The green boy's smile turned to a hard and serious one as he snapped off a crisp salute, in playful remembrance of their first awkward meeting in Jump. He abruptly turned on his heel and dashed out of Robin's room to prepare.

Target look on after his friend and shook his head in mirth. _That was a good one_, he thought as he followed his friend out into the hall.

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	5. Paper Thin

**Paper Thin**

"That sounds terribly tragic," he said. "To be conditioned to suppress all emotion through rote conditioning, like one of Pavlov's dogs, then be thrust into a world of strong feelings for a group of friends back home. Was it not hard to adjust to such a thing?"

Raven just nodded and hugged her blanket closer.

"And then once adjustment is nearing completion, you leave your home, and your friends, to search for a way to save this dimension? Such tragedies befall only poorly written fiction characters I would assume."

Raven chuckled. "You'd think so wouldn't you. I miss him…all of them, very much. I doubt I will see them again soon, or ever again for that matter."

The figure walked forward to the edge of her bed and brushed off a tear dripping down her face, absorbing into his finger. "My sweet Raven, you let vision of the past overcome you. Remember and cherish them, that is important, but do not languish in them like a piglet in the mud. It bodes no invitation to progress to do such a thing."

She looked up at him, wanting to be comforted, but unable to form the request.

If a mouth-less face could smile, he did so. "Besides young lady, there are many friends to make and many adventures to be had in here in this world. You are young still, and have many of these adventures ahead of you, despite what your father would have to say." He paused for a moment. "This boy-…man, back home, was he courting you?"

Raven's gave him a confused look.

"Was he your romantic interest?" To his surprise, she burst out laughing as fresh tears streamed down her face.

"No, no of course not. I was too young to be stricken with girlish infatuation for him. He was kind to me, and showed me how to break the rules of my conditioning. We saw each other more as siblings than lovers." Her cheeks began to redden. "I didn't have any…. romantic inclinations," she hastily added," until recently."

He noted her flushed cheeks in the dim light and pressed his advance.

"May I inquire as to whom these are? You have done so little talking tonight. Like I said, I do very much enjoy the sound of your voice, despite how- what was the phrase you used? - 'raspy and grating' you believe it to be."

She fought to keep her composure. "Uhh…well. At first I was really drawn to Robin. That leadership swagger and brooding mood he displays captured my attention for a while. I outgrew that rather fast, especially after Starfire started crushing on him. I didn't really want to pursue him and fight with a friend over a petty crush. So I got over it," she said, shrugging it off like it were nothing. He knew better.

He nodded. "Understandable, and admirable. Not everyone would be inclined to deny their more…carnal instincts.

She nodded and continued. "I've always seen Cyborg as a brother as well," then she hesitated. "I feel absolutely terrible for saying this…although his personality meshes with mine in more of a sibling-esque sort of way, I admit his cybernetics were also a barrier between us being anything more than just close friends."

"Understandable as well," he said. "It takes a special kind of maturity to be able to admit where and in what way one is shallow. No one, at least in my dealings, is righteous enough to claim they are entirely virtuous. In fact," he said, his voice escalating with enthusiasm, "I am willing to believe that even your chaste priests and Magistrates of Azarath aren't entirely without belligerency themselves."

Raven relaxed at that. "Thanks, I try to rationalize with myself and it never seems to make me feel any better. Hearing it from you does help," she smiled at him. "And I _know _those on Azarath aren't all they say they are."

He nodded again, and indicated he wished her to go on.

She furrowed her brow in concentration. "Normally, I would have a hard time even admitting this to myself, but you are someone who's managed to win my complete trust. So quickly too I might add." She paused and collected herself. "As much as I say Beast Boy gets on my nerves, there's a large part of me that's using that as a defense mechanism. I'm afraid of letting him get too close, afraid of accepting that it is more than a crush that I have on him." She bit her lip. "Don't get me wrong, sometimes he really _does_ get on my nerves, but other times…I'm not sure," she shifted uncomfortably. "Other times, it just doesn't feel like that excuse fits. It feels like I'm finding a reason not to laugh at something he says because I'm afraid of what it means if I give in."

"You're afraid you'll become too attached, and have it ripped away from you like last time. Only now, it would most likely be worse because it's not just a friend being swept away. That is, if you admit him to be more than just a friend in the first place."

She nodded slowly. "Exactly…"

He decided to switch subjects. "So why, then, do you have such an easy time opening up to me?"

"I'm really not sure. Maybe because you make it so easy for me to like you? Beast Boy not so much." She hesitated again. "Is it…a bad thing for me to be stricken with two boys?"

He was taken aback. Here, she had practically admitted, or strongly hinted towards being interested in him. "I'd assume not," he said. "After all, it is not by choice whom we develop feelings for, it is only the actions that we commit that we may take credit for."

She smiled again. "I say that to myself as well, but like usual, hearing it from you helps me believe it." The yawn she gave after that was his clue to end the conversation for the night.

"Come now little bird, a long day of study and heroism awaits you tomorrow. Troubles of the heart will be here to greet you tomorrow. To bed with you."

She pouted at him slightly, earning a sigh from him. " And yes, I will still be here when you awaken as well. Promise."

Satisfied, she crawled to her bed, but forgot to bring the blankets she was hugging at the foot of her bed with her. Malchior picked them up and draped her over to Raven's prone form and tucked her in. She was already asleep.

_Look at me, _he thought. _Trapped in a book and tricking a fifteen year old witch-girl to get my freedom. She truly trusts me as well…am I really to break that trust? _After a pause, he steeled himself and his resolve. _I must if I am to escape eternal damnation. Such is the price to be me. _He looked at her sleeping form, his book curled up beneath her fingers. _Forgive me, sweet Raven._

He glanced around at the room, noted a fly resting itself on the wall of her room, and shifted into thousands of pages which took up residence in the significantly thicker book under Raven's arm.

_And to think she just told me how much she fears losing those she is close too. All the pain she bears from her past ties. And the fear of causing more pain through her father…what kind of monster am I…? Maybe Rorek was right to shut me away…_

The fly buzzed down near the floor and disappeared under the door, escaping into the hallway.

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**Read and review please! Another title symbolism for anyone who wants to guess at this one.**

**Note: If you're all wondering what's up with this whole angsty Raven with a past in Azarath, all will be answered when her origin story is completed and posted. Right now I'd say I'm 1/4 of the way through with the first draft at about 25k words. It's gonna be a long origin fic. :)  
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	6. Target: Black

**Target: Black**

If flies could sweat, Beast Boy was sweating. Whether or not he earned a mission accomplished, he'd most likely lose his life, or at least end up seriously maimed.

_Me and my stupid mouth,_ he thought._ You just had to go and say 'I'll take any dare' didn't you? Signed your own death warrant and sealed it too because Cyborg is sending me on a kamikaze mission._

There he crouched, on the back-rise of the couch in the ops room, waiting for Raven to make an appearance. After nearly three years of being teammates, he had learned a lot about the dark girl like the fact that she would get up every midnight for a quick meditation stint and some tea. Here, in the dead of the night, at the heart of their tower, he would complete his contract. And most likely be buried.

The doors to the ops center swooshed open and admitted Target, clad only in an oversized T-shirt that left a shoulder bare and went down to her knees. The Titans had recently done away with the uniform regulation; now they wore civvies whenever they were off duty.

Seeing Raven dressed like that did something to Beast Boy, besides hiking up his heart-rate. He knew she used to have a major crush on him during their first year as a team, despite how annoyed she would act. It was different now. Gone were the hormone infused, childish infatuations, now replaced with an intense friendship held strong by a pair of matured young adults.

Did they want something more than friends? No, but Beast Boy couldn't help but wonder 'what if' every now and then. He was willing to bet the thought had passed by Raven as well.

_That friendship is going to hell now. She's going to murder me!_ Beast Boy continued to shake as the silhouette made its way to the cupboards and reached for a mug. Along he buzzed, landing on the island behind her.

_How in the hell am I going to pull this off? Just…lift and run like Forest Gump?_

Raven squatted down so she could reach into the bottom cupboards.

_She must be really tired if she's going for one of those,_ he thought as she pulled out a ready-made tea packet. Rarely did she go for machine brewed, opting instead for tea bags and boiled water.

She brought out the whole box of packets and placed them on the counter. Beast Boy could see the excitement in her eyes. _Okay who said you can't think your best friend is adorable?_ Despite beating her father, she still rarely showed any kind of emotion. Seeing such longing in her eyes was a rare treat for the changeling.

It was dark, so Beast Boy knew Raven couldn't see all that well, and with her excitement focused on the tea, he knew she wouldn't be actively searching for someone else's presence. She turned away from the box with a single packet in hand, and headed for the brewer to her right. Beast Boy took the opportunity to change into his human form and slap the box to the floor.

"Curses," he heard her say as she turned to back to the box. He quickly darted behind her so she wouldn't bump into him.

He took a deep, shaky breath as she bent over to pick up the scattered packets. He was quaking from the enormous effort it took to stifle his instinct to bolt, but Cyborg would never cease his teasing if he backed out now.

As soon as her hand reached the first packet, he bit his lip and winced as one of his hands quickly grabbed the bottom hem of her shirt and lifted it up over her head. A squeak of surprise escaped Raven and Beast Boy cocked back his other hand back to quickly deliver a blow to her exposed backside. A harsh _CRACK_ resounded through the silent night around them.

For a long second, everything seemed to stand still, and then Beast Boy's instincts took hold. He dashed out of the room, reaching the hallway before hearing Raven scream bloody murder. Three thoughts occurred to him as he dashed down the hallway, sweating bullets: I'm alive, hopefully that handprint doesn't disappear so Cyborg can have his proof, and since when did Raven start wearing thongs?

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